Friday 5 o’Clock Cocktail – Gimlet

A Gimlet is one of those drinks where its beauty is in its simplicity. And since it has some historical significance, I thought I’d share it with you.

Sir Thomas Gimlette – a British surgeon, who was looking for a way to prevent scurvy in British sailors, invented the drink in the late 19th century. The lime juice in the drink contains a large concentration of Vitamin C, and so by combining it with the sailors’ daily ration of Gin, he was able to ensure they would stay healthy on their long voyages. Interestingly enough, this is why British sailors are referred to as “limeys”.

Gimlets are supposed to be made using Gin. However, just like with the Martini, there are people who think they don’t like Gin so they make the drink with vodka instead. If you do that, then you aren’t making a Gimlet – you’re just kidding yourself.

Just as with Martinis and the fight over how much vermouth to add, with Gimlets, everyone has a preference about the ratio of Gin to lime juice.

The traditional version of the drink uses a 50/50 ratio of Gin to Rose’s Lime Juice.
Most people find that this is too much lime juice, and I would have to agree. My preference is the following:

• 1 ½ oz Gin
• 1 oz Rose’s Lime Juice

That’s it. Put those two ingredients into a glass with ice, stir it and either drink it on the rocks, or strain it into a cocktail glass.

I know, I know. That isn’t good enough. Some of you out there want to turn it into a “signature drink” and start adding other shit to it.

Ok, if you want to do that, following are the top 5 ways to junk up a Gimlet:

• Substitute Vodka for the Gin
• Add other liquors to the glass like Rum or Tequila
• Add cherries or cherry liqueur
• Add soda or tonic water
• Put lemon juice in it

I’m not saying that these ingredients will make the drink taste bad. But please just don’t call it a Gimlet. Call it a Gimlet’s Cousin, or Sir Thomas’ Hot Sister. Something like that.

Have a great weekend!

Friday 5 o’Clock Cocktail – Sex On The Beach

Today is the first day of summer here in the United States. If you happen to be in Europe, then you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for summer to start.

I don’t know why that is. Maybe some of you can clue me in.

At any rate, to celebrate the fact that the sun is hot, today’s cocktail is the famous “Sex on the Beach”.

I remember the first time I actually drank in a bar. I was with a friend of mine, we were about sixteen years old at the time. But we were tipping well, and that’s all the waitress seemed to care about.

I remember that day because we were doing shots of Sex on the Beach, and we were too young to know that the bartender was making them weak since he knew damn well we weren’t old enough to drink.

But they were good anyway, and these days I prefer to drink my Sexes as cocktails rather than shots.

Now, Sex on the Beach’es can be made in a number of ways. Generally, however, it’s Vodka, Peach Schnapps, and some mixture of fruit juices. The ratio of juices to alcohol is usually about 1:1, but you can change that to taste.

If you want to create higher alcohol versions of a Sex on the Beach, then what you would do is substitute different fruit Schnapps for the juices. So, for example, if you wanted a Pineapple tasting Sex, then you would substitute Pineapple Schnapps for Pineapple Juice. Usually you do this if you are making shooters.

So, that being said, here’s how I make them:

• 1 ½ oz Vodka
• 1 ½ oz Peach Schnapps (Or Southern Comfort)
• 1 ½ oz Cranberry Juice
• 1 ½ oz Orange Juice

Southern Comfort is a Peach Liqueur, so if you don’t have the Schnapps, then SoCo would be a reasonable substitute. Also, as I indicated above, you can change out the juices all day long depending on what you have in the fridge. Usually you try to mix a sweet juice with a tangy juice.

So, some good combos would be: Pineapple Juice and Grapefruit Juice; or Apple Juice and Cranberry Juice. Some people also put a teaspoon or so of Grenadine in – it has that sweet/tangy thing built in. You get the idea.

Anyway, Sexes are served in just about every kind of glass: shot glass, highball glass, rocks glass, or (my favorite) the cocktail glass.

If you’re serving in a shot glass, then you’ll be making a stronger drink that uses the schnapps in place of the juices.

Regardless, I hope you have a great first day of summer.

Cheers!

There are Thousands of Cocktail Recipes at the Drunk Man's Guide!

Key Lime Margarita

Thinking of having a margarita? Thinking of using one of those jugs of margarita mix? Wait, there is a better way...

Fact is, it's so easy to make a real margarita that you might as well not use the pre-mixed stuff – especially when you can make a margarita as good as the Key Lime Margarita!

Here are the ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Tequila
• 1 oz Key Lime Juice (Use the bottled stuff – see below)
• 1 oz Cointreau (or substitute Triple Sec – again, see below)
• 1 key lime (quartered)

Now, key limes are tiny, so juicing up an ounce of their juice is a fool’s chore us Drunks don’t need to bother with - especially since there’s a work-around.

The Work-Around

You can buy key lime juice in a bottle for about six bucks at the grocery store. No, it isn’t quite as good as fresh squeezed, but it’s close.

Close enough that if you quarter a key lime and squeeze the juice into your cup before you pour in your ingredients, the fresh juice from the lime combined with the oils from the peel of the lime will give it that fresh-squeezed lime taste – at a fraction of the work.

So, add the lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into your salted margarita glass with ice. Now, the trick is to maintain the presence of mind to salt the rim of your glass BEFORE you put the ice in the glass. That’s the ideal anyway.

If you are female or gay, then you can make a frozen margarita by putting your ingredients in the blender with ice. Pulse it a bit until the big chunks of ice get broken up, then increase the speed to produce a slushy consistency. If you’re a man, and you’re straight, then you’ll take yours “on the rocks”.

Note: If you don’t have Cointreau, then you can substitute Triple Sec or Grand Marnier. All are orange liqueurs. The difference between them is that the Triple Sec is sweeter, and more sugary. Whereas the Cointreau and Grand Marnier are higher quality, drier, more balanced liqueurs. Cointreau and Grand Marnier also cost about three times as much as your regular run-of-the-mill Triple Sec – so if it comes down to budget, choose Triple Sec. The lime taste of a margarita is so strong that you probably won’t notice the difference unless you taste the two side-by-side.

Remember there are thousands of Cocktail Recipes at the Drunk Man's Guide!

Friday 5 o'Clock Cocktail - Barbados Punch

Captain Morgan, Lime, Triple Sec and Pineapple Juice. I'm not sure what could possibly go wrong with that combination of ingredients. Even if you messed up the proportions; most likely it would still taste great.

Right now, pineapples are a buck each at my grocery store, and I almost never need a reason to buy a bottle of rum. So, it just seemed natural to make this drink today. Then make another one. And then a third for desert.

The Barbados Punch is tangy-sweet, and refreshing with the ice slushy effect. A great way to plus this drink up is to substitute some chunks of pineapple for the pineapple juice. It creates this frothy sweet, lime citrus drink. Oh man, it's good.

I find when I make these blended drinks that it helps to prep the ice before I put the rest of the ingredients in. So I put the ice in the blender first and whack it around on low speed for a bit - pulsing on and off. Otherwise you end up with big chuncks of ice and the rest pulverized into liquid.

Of course, I'm just a Drunk and I don't have a fancy blender. Probably if you have one of those great bar blenders you don't have to worry about it.

Anyway, here's what you need:

• 1 oz Spiced Rum (That's Captain Morgan for most of us)
• 1/4 oz Triple Sec
• 2 oz Pineapple Juice (or better yet, throw some chunks of pineapple in the blender instead of the juice)
• 1 oz Lime Juice (fresh squeezed is always best, but use what you have)

Instructions: Put a cup of ice in the blender and crack it up a bit. Then add all the other ingredients and blend it up well. Pour into a highball glass, and garnish with a slice of your pineapple and a lime slice. Drink it responsibly (whatever that means).

Remember there are thousands of Cocktail Recipes on the Drunk Man's Guide!